Friday, November 11, 2011

teacher stress


                        Teacher stress

The teacher today is faced with new challenges in education calling for greater effort from teachers. In addition there are heavy demands made by the society on teachers to perform various roles. This cause heavy stress on teachers. If the stressful situation is unmanageable, various aspects of teacher’s performance such as creativity, classroom management, and implementation of educational techniques may suffer. If their professional obligations are not met, their self image and their ability to cope may be endangered
Signs and symptoms of stress
            1.Physical signs
                  Headaches, migraines, heart palpitations,   constant cold and other infections.                   Mascular aches and pain,. Stomach problems, acidity, indigestion, sweating,   allergies skin irritation, increased blood pressure, and asthmatic attacks
         2. Mental and emotional signs
             Reduced interest    and concentration, poor memory, difficulty in decision making, making mistakes, reduced control, becoming  suspicious ,and unhelpful,, losing sense of humour, losing enthusiasm, becoming resentful, and losing self esteem
            3.Behavioural signs
           Lethargy, moodiness, and grudges,, being less co operative, showing disapproval, isolation, increase in drinking and smoking, eating disorder, deterioration  in personal relationships., fidgeting, procrastination, and obsessions
Coping strategies
1.      Positive thinking: Think positively and constructively. Positive thinking will eliminate worry and enhance performance.
2.      Set realistic goals for yourself: Reduce the number of events going on in your life and you may reduce the circuit over land .
3.      Persistence: Develop powers of willpower and determination . Be positive about your performance and concentrate on  achieving excellence
4.      confidence This is a belief in ones own ability. Failure situations should be avoided
5.      concentration ; build a wall of concentration around you. You must become so absorbed in what you are currently doing that you become completely aware of  all other potential  distractions. Think about the task rather than about yourself
6.      Don’t overwhelm yourself : Don’t  overwhelm yourself by fretting about entire workload. Handle each task as it comes ,or selectively deal with matters in priority
7.      Relaxation: Meditation and breathing exercises have been proven to be very effective in controlling stress. Practice clearing your mind of disturbing thoughts.
8.      Health Sleep, exercise. and eating wisely  are all ways  of keeping a sound mind in a sound body. A balanced diet with adequate fiber will combat stress and fatigue.
9.      Work out stress: Get rid of stress with physical activities.


10.  Support system: It is a good idea to discuss your worries with a trusted friend or family member. A sympathetic ear and a good listener are great antidotes to worry. Just having someone to confide occasionally can be a great source of peace and comfort.
11.  Laughter is the best medicine: Develop a sense of humor. Laughter often provides new perspectives on stressful problems. Laughter is therapeutic> It can relax nerves, improve digestion and help circulation. Learn to laugh at yourself and at life. Try to see the humorous side of life.
12.  Stress diaries: These help you to identify the most important and most frequent stresses that you experience. This helps  you to identify areas where you need to improve your stress management skills. and help you to understand the levels of stress at which you are happiest and most efficient.
13.  Develop a rational approach to teaching:  Focus on the good thing associated with teaching , plan events in advance, establish a sensible teaching routine, and think objectively and unemotionally about problems.
14.        Try to “use” stress: If you can’t fight what’s bothering you and you can’t flee from it, flow with it and try to use it in a productive way.


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

International year of bats

Bats
  • A nocturnal animal
  • The only flying mammal
  • Includes two types-micro bats and mega bats
  • Microbats feed on insects and caterpillers while megabats feed on nectar and fruits
  • They travel at night with the help of reflected sound waves. Megabats have sharp sense of vision and hearing
  • The weight of bats may vary from1.5 grams to 1.2 kilograms
  • They have a life span of 20 years
  • They give birth to 3 offsprings per year. They usually reproduce during spring season
  • They have the capacity to inactivate the development of the embryo and to extend the span of reproduction
          Uses of Bats
  •        They eat up the pests and mosquitoes and thereby bring about pest control
  • They help on pollination and seed dispersal
  •  A particular factor present in the saliva of vampire bats ( Those which feed on the blood of animals) is used for the treatment of paralysis
  • The analysis of the method of  night travel of the bats have contributed much for the development of ultracane used by the blinds              
  • beliefs 
 Bats are often believed to be related to evil spirits and which craft. This is often done , probably because of their night travel and  colour. But there is  no scientific  basis for it
  Activities  for protection all over the world
  •    In Britain the department of forest have created  artificial caves for the   bats
  • In Italy, bat boxes have been distributed to be  installed  in all the houses
  • A colony has been established forthe bats in America in the Florida University campus
  • In England, Bats are protected by Wild life Act
  • Those who disturb bats, are confiscated in Malasia
      In collaboration with the " The convention on migratory species consevation of populations of Europaean  bats, and  Bats conservation International ",  United nations Organization has declared the year of 2011-2012 as International Year of Bats
What we can do?
  •   The first and foremost thing that we can do to protect bats is to avoid harmful activities against them
  • Grow plants that yield fruits and nectar in order to feed bats
  • Leave some plaes with enough plants and trees  to shelter  bats
  • Avoid deforestation